Three weeks had already passed when Gabriella was about to pack her bags. It was 4 days before Christmas and Gabriella couldn't wait any longer to see her friends and family again. The plane which took her back to Albuquerque would leave at 9 o'clock in the evening. She was just putting her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairdryer etc. into her big black trolley case when her cell phone started to ring. After looking at her display she knew it was Taylor.

,,Hey, Tay!", Gabriella beamed brightly, ,, How are you doing?"

,,Hi! Pretty good. What about you?"

,,Fantabulous! I can't wait coming home though! I'm so excited!", she said while continuing packing.

,,Oh, I can't wait either! What's your arrival time?"

,, I'll be home at 7 tomorrow morning."

The two girls went on talking for another half an hour and Gabriella was that busy talking to her friend and packing her stuff she didn't recognize Amber entering the room.

,, There you are. I knew I could find you here! Dave is…"

Gabriella smiled at her and when the British girl realized her roommate was talking on the phone she stopped herself from speaking immediately.

,,Who was that?", Taylor asked curiously.

,,Oh, that was Amber. One of my roommates."

,,And who is Dave?"

,,What do you mean?"

,,I heard your roommate talk about some guy named Dave and now I'm asking you who he is!"

,,He's just a friend, Taylor."

,,A Chad-friend or a Troy-friend?", the Afro-American wanted to know firmly.

,,Taylor!", Gabriella said aghast, ,, Honestly!"

,,What? Ain't I allowed to ask?"

Gabriella sighed:,, We're just friends, okay?"

,,But…"

,,Taylor!", the young woman interrupted.

,,Fine, okay"

,,Thank you….Anyway I'd like to meet you tomorrow let's say around 10. We could have breakfast together at Delicia's. On me of course. What do you think?"

..Sure, I'm already looking forward to it!", Taylor answered joyfully.

,,Okay. So see you tomorrow. Bye."

,,Bye", Taylor had replied before she hung up.

,,Sorry, I interrupted you!", Amber said ruefully.

,,It's okay. Don't worry about it!", Gabriella explained nicely, ,, Anyway, you wanted to tell me something. Well, what is it?"

,,Oh, right! Um Dave told to inform you he was waiting for you."

,,And where?"

,,Um", the blonde thought out loud, ,,Oh god, what did he say? Oh no!"

,,Just calm down, Amber. Take a deep breath and count from 20 to 1."

Amber did as she was told. ,, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11…", she stopped, ,,That's it!"

,,What?"

,,I remember! He said you're supposed to meet him in that deserted cottage five minutes from here."

,,Alright. But why that cottage?"

,,I don't know either. It looks like it will go to pieces soon!"

,,I know. It's old, huh?"

,,Oh yes! The last time somebody lived in it was when my grandfather was still a child. And he had told me that it was built many many years before he was born!"

Gabriella was confused. Why would Dave want to meet her in a house as old as this one? A house that looked like it was going to break down any minute?

,,What are you still doing here?", Liza who had just rushed into the room wanted to know.

,,She is right!", Amber agreed, ,, Go! Dave is waiting!"

,,But…", Gabriella stammered.

,,Ah ah! No discussion!", Liza replied while she was pushing Gabriella out of the room. When they reached the door Liza and Amber told their American roommate to enjoy herself and closed the door. Gabriella couldn't believe what had just happened. Did they really throw her out of the room?

Gabriella shook her head in disbelief as she turned around and started going to the cottage.

4 minutes later the young brunette arrived at the cottage and knocked at its door.

,,It's me!", Gabriella called.

,,Come in!"

Gabriella stepped inside and couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was huge picnic rug with a red and white check lying on the floor in front of an old-fashioned looking fireplace with a nice and warm fire. A plate full of brownies, two pieces of an apple pie, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two small bottles of cold Starbucks' Frappuccino coffee were placed on the blanket. In the middle of everything two white lilies and two white orchids were put. Wow was the only word Gabriella could think of at that moment.

,,So you like it?", Dave asked obviously pleased.

,,I…yes. I love it!", Gabriella responded while smiling from ear to ear, ,,It's wonderful! But what have I done to deserve this?"

,,Since you're leaving today that's my way to say goodbye to you", Dave explained while Gabriella sat down on the picnic rug.

,, That's very sweet of you, Dave!", she said heartily, ,, Thank you…a lot!"

,,Ah, there's no need to thank me! I love seeing you happy! And now…eat! Choose something."

,,Mmmh…it's hard to choose! Everything looks delicious!...I think I'll take this", Gabriella said as she grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She took a bite and told Dave how heavenly it tasted.

,,God, how I missed eating that! Where did you find the jelly? I looked for it once but never found it."

,,Oh well, I remembered you telling me how much you'd like to eat a PBJ sandwich, so I used my drags", Dave declared, ,,I knew you would like it."

Gabriella and Dave had already ate, talked and enjoyed themselves for another five hours when Dave said:,, Gabriella?"

,,Yes?"

,,I…I got something for you.!", the 22 year old man had said, ,, A little pre-Christmas present."

,,Oh, Dave. Now I ain't got anything for you!", Gabriella replied ashamedly.

,,Oh, I didn't expect anything in return, okay? I just wanted to give a present to you. Here."

Still a bit embarrassed Gabriella took the gift. It was a small longish box wrapped into red fancy paper with a golden ribbon on top of it. She opened her present and found a diamond-studded bracelet that was shimmering in the light. It was the most beautiful thing Gabriella had ever seen. But yet she couldn't keep it. She knew it must've cost a fortune and she didn't want Dave to spend so much money on her.

,, Dave, it's beautiful! But I'm sorry, I can't keep it."

,,What? No! You have to keep it! It's a present! I'd be very disappointed if you rejected it. Please keep it. So you won't forget me. Besides…", Dave said while putting the bracelet around Gabriella's right wrist, ,, it looks absolutely good on you!"

Gabriella smiled as a response and then something unexpected happen. Dave leaned down and gently touched Gabriella's lips. But surprisingly she didn't pull back. She just sat there and let him kiss her. Gabriella was even more staggered by herself when she allowed his tongue to enter her mouth. She knew it was wrong it just had to be wrong but yet it did feel good. Suddenly a very confused Gabriella stopped their kissing and jumped up.

,,I…I gotta go!",she spluttered, ,, It's already 8 o'clock, my flight is in an hour. I need to hurry, bye."

,,Should I give you a ride?"

,,No, thank you. I'm taking a cab."

,, Alright. But Gabriella…"

,,Yes?"

,,You're not mad because of what I did, are you?"

,,No, it takes two to tango. You know?"

,,If so, may I give you a hug before you leave?", he asked with his arms wide open.

,,Fine."

They hugged each other tightly before Gabriella had to leave. She grabbed her suitcase and her purse, double-checked her passport etc., said goodbye to Amber and Liza and went to the airport by a black taxi. There she brought her bag to the baggage check-in and went into the plane only 25 minutes later. At 9 p.m. she could hear the pilot talk through the loudspeaker of the British Airways plane. He welcomed everybody, thanked for choosing this airline etc.

But then he finally said:,, We wish you a good flight and hope you will enjoy yourself on our way to Albuquerque. Thank you!"

And because of that sentence Gabriella smiled. On our way to Albuquerque. ,,Finally", she thought, ,, Finally I'm going home."

7 a.m. the other day

The plane had landed safely and Gabriella who had already fetched her case was on her way to find her mom. The young woman could see hundreds of people that were waiting for the people they were supposed to fetch up. Then she saw her. Her mother. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, a light blue cashmere sweater and a beige trench coat. Matched to this she wore brown boots.

,,Gabby!", Maria Montez called when she saw her daughter.

,,Mama!", Gabriella hugged her mother tightly, ,, I missed you so much!"

,,I missed you, too, querida! I'm so happy you're back!", she said and kissed her daughter's cheek.

,,Me too, Mom. Me too."

When they stepped outside the airport Gabriella could see a snow-covered Albuquerque. Although it was awfully cold the young brunette didn't care. Because now she was finally home. Home in Albuquerque.

Spanish-German

querida=darling, sweetheart